by Elisabeth Naughton, Alexandra Ivy, Cynthia Eden, Katie Reus, Laura Wright, Skye Jordan
“Sounds good.” It only took a few minutes until they had the tree in place and screwed in tight. He’d sensed her softening at the tree lot and on the way back to her place. He wasn’t sure how much yet, but the attraction between them was still there full force. It was one hurdle he didn’t have to worry about.
When he pushed up from his crouching position Nora was tugging her scarf and cap off. Her dark hair was slightly mussed and her cheeks were a perfect shade of pink to give him wicked, wicked thoughts about taking her mouth in a demanding, hungry kiss. At that thought his jeans started to get too tight so he cleared his throat. “I think I remember something about hot chocolate.”
Laughing, she tilted her head toward the kitchen. Yeah, this was the Nora he’d fallen for. “Come on.”
“How is it you never visited Holly before taking over your aunt’s shop?” She’d been evasive when he’d asked her that months ago but he was still curious. Hell, he wanted to know everything about Nora.
She shrugged slightly, the action jerky as she pulled down a couple mugs from one of the cabinets. He sat at the center island, watching her movements, drinking in every line and curve of her tight body. She’d taken her coat off too and her dark jeans were snug and showed off her perfect ass. Yeah, staring at her like that wasn’t helping the fit of his jeans either.
“She was my father’s aunt and after he split, my mom didn’t want anything to do with his side of the family. I didn’t find out until after she died, but I guess Aunt Tammy had reached out to her multiple times over the years, but my mom…” She let out a sigh, shook her head. “She was an unhappy woman.”
It was hard to picture that when Nora was the opposite. “Because your dad left?”
“I honestly don’t know. He left right after Sasha was born and I remember them fighting a lot before then but I don’t…I was eight, I just don’t know. I only ever remember my mom being sad.” There was a touch of the same emotion in her voice as she spoke. “She was never officially diagnosed but I think she was depressed most of her life.”
“I’m sorry,” he murmured.
“Thanks. The cancer was hard to deal with.” She pulled a bar of chocolate from another cabinet. “And I’ve never said this out loud to anyone…” She glanced over her shoulder, gave him an assessing look.
“What?”
“I feel bad saying this, but…when she died, it was like a huge weight had been lifted. I’m still sad she’s gone, but the emotional burden of taking care of her and Sasha had been draining. And she wasn’t the best mother.” The words came out in a rush, as if she didn’t want to say them at all.
Jackson was glad she was opening up. They’d been flirty and friendly over the last six months but this was more real and what he wanted from her. If she was telling him this, she at least trusted him. “I can imagine.”
“God, I hope not. Your mom is like Mary Poppins, I swear. I…” Trailing off, she cleared her throat and set a pot on the stove. “So tell me about this big Christmas shindig.”
He wanted to dig more into her past, but didn’t want to push too hard, too fast. “My mom’s obsessed with Christmas—like most of the town. So she invites half the town.”
Nora adjusted the pot on the stove and turned to face him. “Really?”
“Nah, it just feels like it. That first Christmas back was hard.” The words were out of his mouth before he could think about censoring himself. But if she was going to open up to him, he wanted to be more honest with her.
“You mean after you got out of the Navy?”
He nodded, glad she understood him. “Yeah. I didn’t think I’d have trouble adjusting to civilian life, but…” He shrugged. It had been a hell of a lot more difficult than he’d imagined. Adjusting to the crowds and more than that, dealing with civilians. It had been hard to care about seemingly trivial things when Americans were losing their lives overseas. That battle had been the hardest to get over and some days he still struggled with it. Not as much anymore since the whole reason he’d volunteered was to protect his country.
In a move that was completely Nora’s style, she crossed the small kitchen and laid her hand over his. “I’m sorry. I can’t even imagine how hard it would be to come back from…all that. And then settle in with any sense of normalcy.”
Somehow he thought Nora could imagine it just fine. She was a fighter in her own right. It sounded as if she’d been raising her sister since she was eight years old. He slid his other hand over hers, the need to touch her overwhelming. Even before they’d kissed, before that first date, he’d made excuses to touch her all the damn time. Over the summer it had been even worse because she loved flirty summer dresses. And she wore the type reminiscent of the fifties; retro, she’d told him they were called. Whatever they were, they showed off sleek toned legs he’d fantasized about for far too long.
When his hand settled in place, he saw her eyes dilate. The pulse point in her neck beat wild and out of control and her breathing increased just a fraction. He wanted to lean in, to capture her mouth with his. She’d let him too, he could see it in her eyes. But he wasn’t sure if she was just having a weak moment and he didn’t want to take advantage—and give her a reason to regret kissing him later.
Being just friends was never going to work for them. Not since they’d gotten a taste of each other. That first taste wasn’t nearly enough though. Something told him it would never be enough. That was fine though, he was going to take things slowly, do things right with her.
A soft buzzing sound filled the air and it took a second for it to register it was her phone vibrating across the counter. She blinked and withdrew her hand from his, breaking the spell. Immediately he missed the warmth, her softness.
When she looked at the screen her expression paled. “It’s my security company for the store. The alarm must have gone off.”
Which meant someone had likely broken into her store.
Chapter 4
“Jackson, you don’t need to go with me.” Nora looped her scarf around her neck and tucked her gloves into her jacket pocket. She wasn’t exactly scared, but she wasn’t looking forward to dealing with the aftermath of a break-in—if there even was one.
He snorted, as if she’d lost her mind. “Your car’s still down by your shop.”
“Yeah, and I can walk.” She lived downtown so it wasn’t too far. Plus the cops would be there.
“It’s after dark.”
“Holly is one of the safest towns in probably the world.”
“And your shop was just broken into.”
“We don’t know that.” She’d just gotten a call from her security company that the alarm had been triggered, but didn’t know anything beyond that. “And the sheriff’s department has already been alerted so I’ll be fine.”
“The longer you argue with me, the longer you waste time. We could be there by now.” When she started to respond, he cut her off. “And if you try to walk on your own, I’ll just follow in my truck.”
Nora saw the determined set to his jaw and the tight line of his shoulders. “I never knew you were this stubborn.” It shouldn’t be so sexy. But apparently everything about him was, at least to her—and any woman with a pulse.
He nodded once. “I am when it comes to someone I care about.”
Okay then. She cared about him too, but…she wasn’t going there right now. She was still rattled from their almost-kiss in the kitchen. Maybe he hadn’t intended to kiss her, but the sparks had been there, at least for her. And she’d felt herself falling, falling, falling. She’d been ready to lean into that kiss, into him, and lose control in a way she’d sworn to herself she wouldn’t again. “Well I can’t exactly argue with that,” she murmured, grabbing her keys from the hook by the door.
He gave her a look of pure satisfaction that reminded her a lot of the way he’d looked after he’d made her climax. Nope, not going there either.
As she slid into the front seat of his truck she pulled her cell out. “I’m go
ing to call Sasha just to check on her.” The call from the alarm company probably shouldn’t rattle her so much, but it was instinct to check on her sister. Didn’t matter that they lived in a safe town, bad things happened every day, everywhere. And okay, she was being totally paranoid. But she wouldn’t apologize for it.
Jackson turned down the radio as she called, the thoughtful action not lost on her.
“Hey,” Sasha answered after the third right, slightly out of breath.
“Hey yourself. You doing okay?”
“Uh, yeah.” She let out a short laugh. “Why, what’s up?”
“Nothing, just checking on you. Got the tree set up.”
“We can decorate in the morning if you want,” Sasha said, excitement in her voice.
The excitement meant way too much to Nora. She wanted her sister to have the best Christmas this year. Things felt somehow different since settling in Holly. More permanent. Now that she’d heard Sasha’s voice most of her worry dissipated. If her store had been broken into, yes, it would be a pain in the butt to deal with, but her sister was okay. That was what really mattered. Nora had just needed to hear her voice.
“Sounds good to me. I want to grab a few things from Carol’s place tomorrow.” Her friend Carol ran Christmas Carol’s Shop & Crafts and had wreath making kits. Nora was going to try her hand at making one. The good thing about living in Holly was, she could use the wreath year round.
“Okay. Listen…I wanted to stay over at Liz’s house tonight if that’s okay?”
She was out for winter break and Liz was a good kid. “Okay, put her mom on the phone, I want to talk to her first.”
“Ah, hold on…” There was a slight rustling in the background, then Sasha came over the line. “She’s at a Christmas thing with Liz’s dad.”
“Unless I talk to her mom, you’re not staying over there.”
“They won’t be back ’til after midnight.” Sasha’s voice bordered on whiny, which was unlike her.
“Then you should have thought about it sooner. Listen, I’m pulling up to the shop so unless I hear from her mom directly I expect to see you home by your curfew.”
“Why are you at the shop?”
“Ah, it’s no big deal, but I just got a call from the security company.” She decided to downplay it until she knew more. No need to make her sister worry. “I see the sheriff. I’ve gotta go but I’ll see you later tonight.” The flashing blue lights of his car reflected off the big glass windows of her shop and the neighboring ones. The sight of a police car against the backdrop of Main Street with its vintage light poles and pretty sparkling twinkle lights lining the street seemed out of place.
“The sheriff?” There was a note of panic in Sasha’s voice.
“Oh, it’s nothing to worry about. Just a glitch.” She hoped—and she certainly wasn’t going to worry her sister. This wasn’t something Sasha needed to think about. “I’ll call you later.”
“That was some nice parenting,” Jackson murmured as she ended the call.
She laughed. “I try. There’s Brad.” Nora was glad it was the sheriff and not one of his officers. Not that she had anything against them, but she was comfortable with him. He came into her coffee shop at least twice a week.
“Brad?” There was a strange note to Jackson’s voice as he parked his truck along the curb behind a four-door sedan.
“Yeah, Sheriff Fulton. He grew up here, I thought you’d know him.” Jackson couldn’t be more than a year or two older than him.
“I do.” Everything about Jackson’s posture was stiff.
She wanted to ask him about it, but couldn’t dwell on it. Not when she had to deal with whatever had happened at her shop. An icy blast of air rolled over her as she stepped out onto the curb. She’d barely taken a step before Jackson was at her side, his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his warmth as they headed for the sheriff’s car. Even though she’d protested his coming with her, she was grateful he’d pushed. It was nice to have someone to depend on.
Brad nodded at both of them, his expression polite and professional as usual. Broad and muscular, he was probably about six feet even if she had to guess. She’d heard that he had a bunch of medals from his time in the Marine Corps and had literally saved a drowning puppy once. He was an All-American hero and he certainly looked the part in his pressed uniform.
“The alarm’s gone off and two of my guys are inside already.”
Worry punched through her as she glanced at the front doors. She’d been trying to keep it at bay but couldn’t now that she was here. Neither the entrance to the coffee shop nor the bookstore should have been open. And she didn’t see any broken glass from the doors or windows. “How did they get in?”
“Back door was unlocked.”
“Unlocked or open?” Jackson asked before she could speak.
“Just unlocked.” He turned his focus back to her. “We’re going to need you to do an inventory, see if anything was taken or broken before you make a report.”
She nodded, fighting the tension racing up her spine. “I can make some coffee for you and your guys before I start.”
“I’ll do it,” Jackson murmured, kissing the top of her head in a way she could only define as completely, and utterly possessive. Especially considering the pointed look he shot Brad after he did it.
It was so blatantly, well, possessive was pretty much the only way to describe it. And she liked it a little bit too much.
* * *
“So far nothing seems to be missing,” Brad said as Jackson slid him a mug of coffee across the counter.
Nora had already gone through the coffee shop and was now in the bookstore, meticulously going through everything. Jackson wanted to be with her, but knew she needed to focus and he’d just be a distraction. “Yeah. It’s a little weird.” He didn’t like it. “Have there been any break-ins around here lately?”
The sheriff shook his head. “No. Few residential things but we know who did it.”
“Teenagers?”
“Yep.” He shot Jackson an assessing look. “When are you going to man up and make things official with Nora?”
Jackson’s fingers froze around his own mug. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Lips twitching, Brad just lifted a shoulder. “There’s a bet going at Silver Bells. Just curious is all, especially considering the ‘stay away from my woman or die’ look you gave me outside.”
“What the fu—”
“Hey, your mom started the bet.” He gave another shrug.
“My mother started a bet on what exactly?”
“Not sure what the actual term that she used was, but as soon as Nora’s officially your girlfriend, the winner gets a pretty big pot.”
His gaze narrowed. “How big?”
“I think it’s up to six hundred bucks. Plus they win a gift certificate to the spa and a free salon day at Silver Bells. The works.”
“My mother’s insane.”
“I think that’s up for debate.”
“You’re just saying that because she brings you cookies all the time.” His mom was absolutely shameless.
“There might be some truth in that.” His lips quirked again before he took a sip of the coffee. “Man, Nora’s got the best brew in town, I swear.”
Something about the way Brad said Nora’s name rankled Jackson. It was too familiar. He hadn’t even realized they were friends. “You ever ask her out?”
Now the sheriff full-on smiled. “God, you are so done. And no, not that I didn’t think about it.” When Jackson just scowled Brad’s smile grew even wider. “But she never gave me the vibe and you put a claim on her pretty early on. Not that you’ve ever done anything about it.” He cleared his throat. “Never thought SEALs were cowards.”
“Shut it, jarhead.” Fulton had been a year behind Jackson in school, had gone on to join the Marine Corps and after doing four years—almost the entire time overseas—got out and earned a degree in criminal justice before
settling back in Holly. And Jackson knew the guy had some notable medals that he never talked about.
Shaking his head slightly, he slid his mug back to Jackson. “Top it off?”
Nodding, he did. As he grabbed the pot, Fulton continued. “You know of any issues Nora’s had lately? Any enemies, anything like that?”
“No and she would have told me.” Or he assumed she would have. He couldn’t imagine anyone having anything against Nora anyway. There’d been no destruction of property either. So far it looked as if her back door had been opened after the alarm had been set, which set it off.
“I figured as much. Gonna head down to talk to the employee who closed up after this, but this doesn’t feel like a break-in.”
It didn’t, but Jackson still didn’t like it. When another thought occurred, he frowned. “What date did my mom pick?”
“Christmas Eve.”
He sighed. Yeah, that sounded about right.
* * *
“I’m glad that’s over.” Nora wrapped her arms around herself, fighting off a shiver as they watched Brad and his officers drive off. They’d gotten a few curious onlookers headed to Yuletide Spirits earlier, but luckily not too many people had stopped to talk.
Wouldn’t really matter though. By tomorrow it would be all over town that she’d had the cops at her store tonight. Which was actually a good thing. She’d get even more foot traffic during the day from curious people and she’d do even more business. A win-win as far as she was concerned.
“Me too.” Jackson’s deep voice rolled over her.
It was like her body was attuned to him. Whenever he spoke in that dark, delicious way, everything inside her seemed to wake up and take notice without fail. Well that and being around him in general. After the way he’d helped with her tree, then stayed at the shop while she dealt with the tedious job of checking out everything, she couldn’t help but question the decision she’d made to keep things platonic between them. The fact was, they had chemistry and he was such a sweet man. There was no getting around it. But…gah, she was such a coward. She’d had enough loss in her life, she didn’t want to lose Jackson too.